Category: Office Life

We are very excited to introduce our newest addition to the Skin Physician and Surgeon Family: Ashlene Korcek.

Ashlene grew up near Portland Oregon with her mom, dad, and younger sister, where she learned to love spending time outdoors, especially when it came to snow skiing. She has had a passion for medicine for as long as she can remember, which lead her to obtain her Bachelors Degree in Health Science at Walla Walla University in Washington State. Ashlene then moved to California to study at Loma Linda University where she graduated with her Masters in Physician Assistant. While in PA school, she fell in love with the field of dermatology and the variety it has to offer.

During her time away from the office, she still enjoys getting outside and hiking, biking, or rock climbing with her husband, Lucas.

Welcome to the family Ashlene!

This entry was posted
on Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 at 8:01 pm and is filed under Office Life.
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This weekend our office attended an Angels game. It doesn’t get much better than a warm summer’s night baseball game. We had a great time enjoying lots of peanuts, popcorn and hot dogs. There may have been a few Dodger fans in the group but we let them slide as long at they did not wear any blue. Did you enjoy America’s pastime this summer?

This entry was posted
on Monday, August 20th, 2012 at 10:26 am and is filed under Office Life.
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Six year old Alexa was suddenly afflicted with a life-threatening condition called dermatomyositis, which causes distinctive skin rashes and acute muscle weakness. She got so weak that she was unable to walk. There is no cure for this disease, but presently it is under control with medications. This brave little girl is our guest of honor at our annual patient appreciation event, The Envy Party, September 27th 2012. We hope you have a chance to meet her that night.

Purchase a $20 ticket for an opportunity to spin our prize wheel and a chance to win $1000 towards a procedure here at Skin Physicians and Surgeons. 100% of proceeds will go to support Alexa’s medical costs. You can purchase an opportunity to spin the prize wheel at The Envy Party or just stop by our office any time to spin the wheel before the event.

Introducing our New Happy Hour Lecture Series!

Learn more about different skin conditions and treatments while enjoying happy hour refreshments and special gifts for all attendants

Join us for our first Happy Hour Lecture:

Have you thought about treatment with Botox or Dermal Fillers and just don’t know where to start? Come learn more about the basics of these cosmetic treatments at our Botox and Filler 101 course. This beginner’s guide offers straight talk on the lighter side of cosmetic treatments. Learn about Botox, Dermal Filler and wrinkle erasers to find out which may be right for you and what you should know about them.

Follow these 6 tips to get the most out of your Dermatology appointment.

1.Know what medications you are taking– Often patients will come in and tell us, “My other Doctor gave me some cream and pills, I don’t know the name of them but they didn’t work”. Knowing what treatments did not work for you in the past can be very helpful to your provider. How upset would you be if you got home and discovered we gave you the same exact cream and pills you had in the past? Make sure you come prepared. Bring your medications with you or write down the names of them. I am a huge fan of technology so I love the idea of taking pictures of your medications and storing them in your phone. It only takes a few seconds and there is no extra bulk to carry around.

2. Don’t be embarrassed– We’ve seen it all. We don’t care if you shaved your legs, have recently gotten a pedicure, have sock lint between your toes or have your “cute” underwear on. If your rash is covering your whole body be prepared to get in a gown so we can do a thorough examination.

3. Write your questions down– It is very frustrating when you get to your car after your appointment and think to yourself, “Darn! I forgot to ask _____”. If you write your questions down you won’t forget them. While you should write down all of your questions make sure the list isn’t too long. If you have 20 questions about 10 different problems we won’t be able to give each topic the attention it deserves. Medical information can be overwhelming. If we are able to focus on a few topics it will enable you to have a better understanding of your conditions.

4. Get to your appointment early, do your homework and come prepared—If possible, schedule your appointment first thing in the morning or right after lunch to avoid the busier times. If you feel your appointment may require a little more time than usual tell the receptionist when scheduling to allow for sufficient time. Plan to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your appointment time if you are a new patient to fill out any necessary paperwork. Our office has made forms available online so you can print them at home and bring them in filled out to save time.

5. Be honestand open—It’s important to answer all health questions honestly, even with sensitive questions regarding drug or alcohol use, sexual history or other lifestyle habits. This information can be crucial when attempting to establish your diagnosis.

6. Outsmart your rash– When it comes to skin we know rashes come and go. We hear almost every day “It looks a lot better today, but yesterday it was so much worse!” In Dermatology a physical examination of your skin is the most important component of our evaluation. If your rash tends to come and go take a good, quality picture of your condition when it is at it’s worse. Make sure the picture is a well lit, clear, close-up and detailed picture. Printing them up for us to view is very helpful, it enables us to see the detail better. If you do have it stored on your phone make sure you have it pulled up ready to go. As fun as it might be to see your snapshots from your latest Vegas trip your rash pictures will be much more helpful. If you wake up the day of your appointment and your rash is no where to be found still make it to your appointment but know there is probably not much we can do. We may be able narrow down your diagnosis to a few options but may not be able to give you a firm diagnosis. What your visit will do is “open the case” for your condition. Our office makes an effort to squeeze established patients in same day when their rash appears for evaluation.

The list of competitors to the game leader, Botox, is growing, but are any of the new products actually better? Or are all the new choices just making it more confusing? Botox, Dysport and Xeomin have a lot in common, but they also have some important differences. Unlike its predecessors, Xeomin does not need to be refrigerated. This may be an advantage when it comes to distribution. What’s more, Xeomin is “naked.” There are no additives — just botulinum toxin type A. This may lessen a patient’s likelihood of developing antibodies to Xeomin. When your body senses a foreign invader, it responds by creating antibodies and launching an attack. If this were to occur with a neurotoxin such as botulinum toxin type A, it may not have its desired effects. Xeomin is said to be more like Botox than Dysport. It takes about one week for the full effects of Xeomin injections to be realized, and once this occurs the results last from three to six months.

The Xeomin bottom line?

It works-and it’s probably and option that’s here to stay. Still wondering which of these injectable wrinkle relaxing treatments is better? Our view is that, like Coke vs Pepsi, it’s a matter of personal preference.

Perhaps you’d like to do your own “taste test” and try a Xeomin vs. Botox/Dysport experiment at our Xeomin Launch Party March 16th.

How do you keep things interesting at your workplace? We decided to add a little excitement into our Monday by having a “represent your favorite sports team day”. We already do a fair amount of trash talking after the weekend so we thought it was only appropriate.

is that a Raiders fan hiding back there?

This entry was posted
on Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 at 4:30 pm and is filed under Office Life.
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We see a lot of kids at our office with conditions ranging from rashes to warts to moles and much more. We try to make our patients as comfortable as possible however there are many occasions when a child may require a painful procedure during their visit. Many offices have treats for their patients after they have been seen to make their office visit a little more enjoyable. While we have a drawer full of the most common treats and stickers, we thought it would be fun to step up our gift giving skills with balloon animals. Our medical assistants have become expert balloon animal creators lately. Take a look at some of our creations.

Flower

Bunny and Butterfly

and if you’re really lucky…

an OCTOPUS!

This entry was posted
on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 at 12:05 pm and is filed under Office Life.
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Happy Halloween everyone! Are you dressing up today? We’re having fun with some costumes at the office. We hope your day is filled with more treats than tricks!

This entry was posted
on Monday, October 31st, 2011 at 10:27 am and is filed under Office Life.
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Are you ready for some football? We are. At our office we are a “house divided”. Myself being an USC alumni I have plenty of cardinal and gold ready to don for the football season. Dr. Lee is an UCLA alumni and has plenty of love for her bruins. We also have this guy who is a big time Jets fan. It’s that time of year for some friendly rivalry. Here are some other football paraphernalia strewn around the office.

USC Football Button

Jets sticker on our time clock

Does football season invade your office as well?

This entry was posted
on Friday, September 2nd, 2011 at 10:29 am and is filed under Office Life.
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